Different types of door lights exist to provide light into the interior of homes. Door lights may feature a piece of flat, decorative, cut or stained glass held within a frame that is placed within a door. New door lights typically use tempered glass, laminated glass or acrylic in order to meet current building codes or safety standards for modern doors and windows. Older, more historic, door lights have a hand-blown piece of glass that features a bullseye pattern on the surface of the glass. These hand-blown pieces of glass usually have a center projection with one or more raised concentric rings, but the design frequently is very irregular because they are individually hand-made. These door lights are often found in older homes and are set within a wooden door frame. These older door lights, since they are made of glass, are susceptible to breakage and typically do not meet current building codes or safety standards.
A consumer product safety standard is set forth in 16 C.F.R. § 1201 for glazing materials used or intended for use with architectural products such as doors, including storm and combination doors. These safety requirements are designed to reduce the risk of injury or death when the glazing material is broken. The standard includes impact and environmental test requirements. Other standards exist, including those developed by the American National Standards Institute and found in ANSI Z97.1, which sets forth standards for glazing materials in buildings, also in an attempt to reduce the risk of injury in the event the glazing material is broken.
Although there are exemptions to the standards, such as where the primary purpose is decorative or artistic, it is generally desired that glass placed in doors where the glass might potentially be broken be resistant to impact and/or be made to reduce the likelihood of cutting or piercing injuries when the glazing material is broken. For example, glass in doors and windows is often susceptible to breakage by people, particularly children, who may run into the glass or cause objects to impact and break the glass. Thus, a glazing material is desirable that avoids potential injury by being substantially shatterproof or impact resistant. To meet these codes or standards, the glazing material is usually made of flat tempered glass, laminated glass or acrylic.
When remodeling homes, older wooden doors and windows are often replaced with more energy efficient ones. For example, replacement doors may be made of fiberglass or steel. To meet building codes and safety standards, door lights within these new doors or windows must meet the above described impact and environmental tests. Homeowners, however, typically want to keep the original look of the door light so that the door light matches the period detail of the home. Thus, a substantially shatterproof or impact resistant door light with a bullseye or other three-dimensional pattern is desired.
However, it is difficult to make door lights of tempered or other safety glass with a bullseye or three-dimensional pattern. Because of irregularities in glass with projecting or three-dimensional shapes, the glass may shatter during the process of tempering. A tempered glass door light with a slightly raised modified bullseye is available, however, the raised bullseye lacks uniformity and only has a raised center portion. It is desired to provide a door light that is substantially shatterproof or impact resistant and that includes a uniform projecting or three-dimensional shape or pattern.